Rules

The app teaches all of this on the board. Here it is to read.

The goal

The board has 18 holes, 9 for each player, and two kazans for captured stones. There are 162 stones, 9 in each hole at the start.

Whoever gathers 82 stones or more in their kazan wins. At 81:81 it is a draw. White moves first.

A move

Choose one of your holes and take all its stones. Sow them one by one, counter-clockwise, starting with that same hole. After your hole 9 comes your opponent's hole 1.

A lone stone simply moves to the next hole. In the example, four stones from hole 3 land in holes 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Capture

If your last stone lands in an opponent's hole and makes an even number, all the stones there go to your kazan. In the example, a move from hole 7 makes 4 in the opponent's hole 2, and all four are yours.

Tuzdyk

If your last stone turns 2 into 3 in an opponent's hole, that hole becomes your tuzdyk and the three stones go to your kazan. From then on, whatever falls into it is yours until the end of the game. A good tuzdyk often decides the game.

Tuzdyk limits

You cannot always make one. When you cannot, the three stones simply stay in the hole.

• One tuzdyk per player per game.
• None in the opponent's hole 9.
• Not the same hole number as the opponent's tuzdyk.

The end of the game

The game ends when a player reaches 82 stones or more. The other way is atsyrau: the player to move has no stones to play. The stones left on the board then go to the player who still has them.

Online games add a clock, and you can resign or offer a draw. The game enforces these rules itself: you cannot make an illegal move.